1 Corinthians 2:6-16

2.6 Howbeit we speak wisdom among them that are perfect: yet not the wisdom of this world, nor of the princes of this world, that come to nought:

Perfect here does not mean sinless; it means to be an adult or mature. This wisdom is beyond human intelligence or ability to comprehend.

1 Corinthians 1.19-21 For it is written, I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and will bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent. Where is the wise? where is the scribe? where is the disputer of this world? hath not God made foolish the wisdom of this world? For after that in the wisdom of God the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe.

2.7 But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, even the hidden wisdom, which God ordained before the world unto our glory:

Mystery is a Greek word that describes something previously hidden or unknown that has now been revealed. Many mysteries are spoken of in the New Testament.

Mark 4.11 mystery of the kingdom.

1 Corinthians 15.51 mystery of the bodily resurrection of the dead.

Ephesians 5.32 mystery of the church.

2 Thessalonians 2.7 mystery of iniquity.

1 Timothy 3.16 mystery of godliness, the Incarnation

Revelation 1.20 mystery of the 7 stars.

Revelation 17.5 mystery Babylon the great.

And what is this glorious mystery that Paul is referring to here?

Ephesians 3.3-6 How that by revelation he made known unto me the mystery; (as I wrote afore in few words, Whereby, when ye read, ye may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ) Which in other ages was not made known unto the sons of men, as it is now revealed unto his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit; That the Gentiles should be fellow heirs, and of the same body, and partakers of his promise in Christ by the gospel:

Colossians 1.27 the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.

The Holy Spirit has brought this revelation of Christ to the church through the apostles, and now God has chosen to make His Son Jesus Christ known through the preaching of the gospel.

It appears from Scripture that the processes God uses to bring His truth to man:

1) Revelation = that which is revealed to a prophet or apostle; may come in form of dream or vision

2) Inspiration = the prophet would either speak or write down those words to communicate that truth to others; 1 Peter 1:21; 2 Tim. 3:16

3) Illumination = an insight from previous revelation that was inspired by God and is made known to us through the Spirit of God.

It must be pointed out that since the Scriptures have been completed, The Spirit of God is not giving any new or additional revelations.

This hidden wisdom ordained by God before the foundation of the world unto our glory.

That we should inherit glory through the gospel of Jesus Christ is the eternal plan of God.

Matthew 13.34,35 All these things spake Jesus unto the multitude in parables; and without a parable spake he not unto them: That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying, I will open my mouth in parables; I will utter things which have been kept secret from the foundation of the world.

1 Peter 1.18-21 Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers; But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot: Who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you, Who by him do believe in God, that raised him up from the dead, and gave him glory; that your faith and hope might be in God.

2.8 Which none of the princes of this world knew: for had they known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.

Princes of this world- This is not referring to devils, as some have thought. Had the devil and the principalities of darkness known what God had designed to do by the death of Christ, they would never have been concerned in bringing it about. This teaches us that Satan is not omniscient or all knowing.

Nor is this a reference to the political governors of the Roman Empire, particularly in Judea, as Herod and Pontius Pilate, who also were entirely ignorant of it.

I believe that the princes of this world refer to the ecclesiastical rulers of the Jewish people such as the priests, Scribes, and Pharisees, the Rabbis and learned doctors. These knew nothing of the wisdom of the Gospel, or the wise counsels of God concerning salvation by Christ; they knew not the Messiah when He came, nor the prophecies concerning Him.

Acts 3.13-18 The God of Abraham, and of Isaac, and of Jacob, the God of our fathers, hath glorified his Son Jesus; whom ye delivered up, and denied him in the presence of Pilate, when he was determined to let him go. But ye denied the Holy One and the Just, and desired a murderer to be granted unto you; And killed the Prince of life, whom God hath raised from the dead; whereof we are witnesses. And his name through faith in his name hath made this man strong, whom ye see and know: yea, the faith which is by him hath given him this perfect soundness in the presence of you all. And now, brethren, I wot that through ignorance ye did it, as did also your rulers. But those things, which God before had shewed by the mouth of all his prophets, that Christ should suffer, he hath so fulfilled.

The Lord of glory expresses that the grandeur and honor of Jesus is equal to that of God the Father Himself. In Psalm 24.7, Jehovah is called the King of glory.

The Lord Jesus Christ is called The Lord of glory because He alone possesses all of the glorious perfections of The Father, and is Himself the brightness of his Father’s glory. If you have seen Me, you have seen The Father.

The Holy Spirit links Jesus, The Lord of Glory with the crucified Messiah. This is what is known theologically as the hypostatic union. This is the union of two natures (divine and human) within the single person of Christ (Cp. John 1.1;1.14; Philippians 2.5-8).

This dual nature of being fully man and fully God distinguishes Jesus Christ from the description of Jesus according to any and all other religions or faiths.

What the rulers of this age could not and cannot see is that the path to glory is through the cross.

What this teaches us by way of a biblical principle is that the key of life and that more abundantly is also through the cross. Jesus said in

Luke 9.23, 24 And He said to them all, If any man will come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me. For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: but whosoever will lose his life for My sake, the same shall save it. For what is a man advantaged, if he gain the whole world, and lose himself, or be cast away.

The path to fulfillment in life is not found by self-indulgence, but by self-denial for the cause of Jesus Christ. Death to our proud and selfish ways for the glory of Jesus Christ is the pathway to fulfillment.

2.9 But as it is written (Isa 64.4), Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love Him.

Who are these glorious and incredible truths revealed to and prepared for?Them that love Him. In the original text it is, “for him that waiteth for Him”; the sense is the same, for such as hope in the Lord and wait for him, are lovers of him.

According to Scripture, the best proof or display of love for Jesus is obedience to His commandments from the heart.

John 14.21 He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth Me: and he that loveth Me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest Myself to him.

John 14.23 Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love Me, he will keep My words: and My Father will love him, and We will come unto him, and make Our abode with him.

In the parable of the 2 sons, it was the son who did God’s will that loved The Father, not the son who knew God’s will but refused to obey.

2 Timothy 4.8 I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith: Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing.

An individual who loves Jesus Christ is going to be a person who is daily about His Fathers business as they eagerly look for the immanent coming of The Lord Jesus.

2.10 But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God.

Revealed- Greek word apokalypto;to uncover, lay open what has been veiled or covered up. To make known, make manifest, disclose what before was secret.

The deep things of God. God prepares things beyond human comprehension for those who are His. The “deep things of God” does not mean that we fully understand the perfections of the nature of God, which are past finding out. Nor does it mean that we will be able to understand the depths of His wise and mysterious acts of providence.

It means that we are able to understand the fellowship of the gospel mystery which was hidden but are now revealed in the word.

2.11 For what man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him? even so the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God.

Man by natural wisdom does not know God. Man by investigation of all the natural forces of life will never find his way to the heart of God.

When God revealed to Daniel the interpretation of Nebuchadnezzar’s dream in Daniel 2.16, Daniel declared:

Daniel 2.22 He revealeth the deep and secret things: He knoweth what is in the darkness, and the light dwelleth with Him.

We may know from creation that there is a Creator, but we will not be able to know Who that Creator is personally apart from His Spirit revealing Him to us.

Paul lays down the fact that the only person who can tell us about God is the Spirit of God Himself. There are deep and intimate things about God that only His Spirit knows. Thus, the Holy Spirit is the only person who can lead us into genuine, intimate knowledge of God.

2.12 Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God.

2.13 Which things also we speak, not in the words which man’s wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual.

What is the spirit of the world? The Greek word cosmos, means, the whole circle of earthly goods, endowments riches, advantages, pleasures, etc, which although hollow and frail and fleeting, stir desire, seduce from God and are obstacles to the cause of Christ.

David Robertson said: The pleasures that people seek without God is like a person who is trying to quench their thirst by drinking salt water. That is what Jesus told the woman at the well in John 4.

Comparing spiritual things with spiritual- Since all Scripture is given by the inspiration of God, we understand Scripture by comparing Scripture with Scripture.

The Holy Spirit reveals the things that are freely given to us of God. Things like the promises of God; the pleasures of God. Things like righteousness, peace and joy in The Holy Ghost.

In verses 14 and 15, Paul distinguishes all of mankind into two kinds of men, the natural man and the spiritual man.

2.14 But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness (Gr. Moria; silliness; absurd) unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.

2.15 But he that is spiritual judgeth all things, yet he himself is judged of no man.

The Greek word for the English word natural is the same word that is translated “sensual” in Jude 19. That word is used to idescribe a person who does not have the Spirit. Romans 8.9 If any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of His.

To the natural or unsaved man, the message that a man dies on the cross for our sin is foolishness. Foolishness is an assessment you make of something you have understood but regard as ridiculous.

To the natural man, in the beginning, God created the heaven and the earth is foolishness. Thus, the basic problem is not an intellectual inability to construe the meaning of Paul’s message; the problem is the moral inability to assign the right value to it.

The spiritual man is the person that has been regenerated by The Spirit, by grace, through faith in The Lord Jesus Christ. The first and most fundamental work of God’s Spirit in the life of the natural man is to shatter pride. When the Spirit of God is at work in your life, you will then begin to appraise things the way God does. You will not regard the Word of God as folly but more necessary than your necessary food..

A spiritual man judges all things. That does not mean that he or she is a judgmental person. It means that he or she scrutinizes, sifts, and prays through all situations and decisions in life, and seeks to walk in the wisdom and counsel of God.

2.16 For who hath known the mind of the Lord, that he may instruct him? But we have the mind of Christ.

The mind of Christ is not the referring to the instrument of natural thinking. It is the mindset of God’s profound wisdom regarding salvation through a crucified Messiah, which was hidden, but is now revealed to the church by The Holy Spirit.

The manual of operation for the Christian wartime mentality is the Bible. It contains the truth needed to win us over from the enemy to Christ, to deprogram our old thought patterns, to train us in strategies of righteousness, and to equip us with armor and weapons to defeat Satan and liberate his captives.

Having the mind of Christ, we now are in the ongoing process of being transformed and renewed in the spirit of our mind that we may prove what is that good, perfect and acceptable will of God.

Hebrews 9:28 Christ also, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, shall appear a second time unto salvation without reference to sin, to those who eagerly await Him.

The question before us all is: Are we included in the “many” whose sins he bore? And will we be saved by His coming “untosalvation”?

The answer of Hebrews 9:28 is, “Yes,” if we are “eagerly awaiting him.” We can know that our sins are taken away and that we will be safe in the judgment if we trust Christ in such a way that it makes us eager for his coming.

There is a phony faith that claims to believe in Christ, but is only a fire insurance policy. Phony faith “believes” only to escape hell. It has no real desire for Christ. In fact, it would prefer it if he did not come, so that we can have as much of this world’s pleasures as possible. This shows that a heart is not with Christ, but with the world.

So the issue for us is: Do we eagerly long for the coming of Christ? Or do we want him to wait while our love affair with the world runs its course? That is the

The problem of man is inside of himself. The only answer of man is outside of himself. The problem isn’t someone else or something else. The problem is sin in me, and the only answer for sin is Jesus Christ.

In Mark 2.1-12, Jesus Himself teaches us that the greatest need of every human being, regardless of his or her outward estate, is the need to be forgiven.

I am here this morning to tell you this morning that Jesus is the only One Who can forgive you, because all of our sin ultimately has been committed against Him.

David said, against Thee and Thee only have I sinned and done this evil in Thy sight.

Do you know what sin David was referring to? Sleeping with another man’s wife. But he said that his great sin was against God.

Beloved, the only sin that Jesus bore on His cross was your sin, my sin.

The only wrath and punishment that Jesus absorbed on His cross was the wrath and punishment that we deserve. God has made a way for sinners to be forgiven and reconciled to Him and one another, and that one Way is Jesus Christ. Will you embrace Him this morning as follow Him as Lord?